Rogue Computer Traders Spike Nasdaq

from the moving-the-market-by-leaning-on-your-computer dept

ashau wrote in with this article explaining that the spike in the Nasdaq this morning was caused by computer traders responding to an improperly entered price. Somehow, someone put in an order on Exodus stock (yes, the company that declared bankruptcy yesterday) at $100 a share. This caused lots of computers to jump in and start buying stuff, which spiked the market. This is what happens when computers have no common sense (even if this was started by a human error). The article also talks about other shifts in the market that have been caused by computers. The best is the story of a Salomon Brothers trader, who "accidentally" sold $1.2 billion worth of French government bonds by leaning on his keyboard. Oops. Maybe we need a version of Pawsense (the software that locks up your computer when it recognizes the signature paw prints of a cat stepping on the keyboard) for traders' elbows.

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